dimanche 4 octobre 2009

A good day for Ireland, a good day for Europe

Ireland has passed the second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty with an overwhelming majority of 67 per cent in favour as just two of the 43 constituencies voted against it.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen said credit for the result rested with the Irish people who had shown a determination to be at the centre of Europe.

Speaking at a press conference at Government Buildings in Dublin this afternoon, Mr Cowen said: “We will now work with all our partners in ensuring the reforms this treaty will bring are implemented”.

The referendum was carried with 67.1 per cent of the electorate voting in favour, reflecting a 20.5 per cent swing to the Yes side since the June 2008 referendum. In the first Lisbon poll, the No side secured 53.4 per cent of the vote.

Yesterday's turnout was 58 per cent with 1,214,268 people voting for the treaty and 594,606 voting against. This was higher than the 53.13 per cent turnout for the first referendom on Lisbon.

Dublin South recorded the highest support for the treaty, with 82 per cent of ballots in favour. This was closely followed by Dún Laoghaire, which had an 81 per cent Yes vote, a 17.7 per cent swing compared to last year.

Across all 12 Dublin consitutencies support for the treaty was 69 per cent, with a turnout of 59.3 per cent.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said he saw the Yes vote as indicative of the Irish electorate's confidence in the European Union and as a “sign that Ireland recognises the role that the European Union has played in responding to the economic crisis”.

The exceptions to the national trend were Donegal North East and Donegal South West, which rejected the treaty, the latter by a narrow margin of 50.3 per cent against. Donegal South West is the constituency of Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Mary Coughlan. Both Donegal constituencies rejected the treaty last year.

No campaigners conceded defeat within hours of ballot boxes being opened this morning as the extent of their defeat quickly became apparent.

Libertas leader Declan Ganley told reporters at the main Dublin counting centre in the RDS the result was “a very convincing win".

"I'm surprised how big the Yes vote is and it shows how scared people are," he said. "This is a very convincing win. It's a mandate of sorts. I wish him [Taoiseach Brian Cowen] the best of luck."

"I politically admire a masterful campaign from a masterful politician who has made absolute glove puppets out of the opposition," Mr Ganley said.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said he was delighted and noted that the guarantees secured by the Government had played a crucial role, while Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said the result was "an essential first step towards economic recovery".

Pat Cox, a former president of the European Parliament who headed the Ireland for Europe group, claimed the voters of Ireland had put their country first. “This was a mature vote in which the Irish people rejected those voices telling them to make the referendum a verdict on the government and on national policies," he said.

Minister for Commutations, Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan said the result could be a turning point for the country after a difficult 18 months.

In the first referendum on Lisbon on June 12th, 2008, the treaty was rejected by 53.4 per cent to 46.6 per cent.

In the previous EU referendum on October 19th, 2002, the Nice Treaty was approved by 62.89 per cent to 37.11 per cent. In an earlier referendum on June 7th, 2001, Nice was rejected by 53.87 per cent to 46.13 per cent.